Set up behaviors in Zapier Agents

Beta

This product is in open beta. It’s available for use but still in active development and may change.

You can automate tasks using agents by giving them instructions. These automated tasks are called behaviors and consist of:

• Instructions: what you want the agent to do.
• Trigger: an event that starts the behavior.
• (Optional) Actions: apps the agent will use to perform tasks.
• (Optional) Data sources: documents the agent uses to answer questions and complete tasks. An agent can have multiple behaviors, each with its own instructions, trigger, and actions. Each time a behavior runs, it uses one activity. 

1. Create a behavior

1. Go to https://agents.zapier.com/. Learn how to create your agent.
2. From your agent Chat field, click Run Behaviors to display the Behaviors modal.
3. Click + Create behavior. A dialog box will open and you can configure all aspects of your behavior.

2. Add a trigger

Start your agent’s automation with behavior triggers, which are events that start the process. If you’re familiar with Zapier, these trigger works similarly to Zap triggers. However, unlike Zaps, you can also trigger behaviors on demand by chatting with your agent. 

To set your trigger:

1. In the Trigger field, click On demand. 
2. Search for and select an app, or pick from the suggested ones.
3. Select the trigger you want to use. The default trigger is “On demand”, which means you must chat with your agent to trigger the behavior
4. If required, select an account to connect to in the Account dropdown menu. Certain apps do not require a connection.
   • You can create a new connection by clicking the Settings icon .  
5. Fill out any required fields for your trigger.
6. Click Save.

3. Add instructions

Instructions tell the agent what to do. Specify the triggering event, the desired actions, and how you expect the agent to behave. 

Example

If your instructions say, “When I add a star to an email in Gmail, look at the body of the email and determine if it contains something for me to do. If so, create a task assigned to me in Asana with the relevant details and due date. If there’s nothing I need to do, send me a private message in Slack with a summary of the email.” 

When you star an email in Gmail, the agent will be triggered and analyze the content to identify potential tasks for you. If there are any, it'll create your tasks in Asana. If it cannot identify any tasks for you, it will send a Slack message with a summary of the content. 

Searching and browsing the Internet

Agents can search the internet and browse websites for information to complete requests and tasks. Whenever you provide instructions that require accessing an external website, the agent will carry out the instructions and return the results.

Note

The agent cannot log in to websites or interact with them. Any information you want it to retrieve needs to be publicly available.

4. (Optional) Add behavior actions

An agent can use multiple actions. You must give the agent access to those actions by adding them to the behavior.

To add an action:

1. Within the behavior dialog box, click Take action. A modal will open.
2. Click the search field to search for and select an app, or select from the list of most popular apps.
3. Select an action. If your app account has been used within Zapier Agents before, the action is ready to use. 
   • To change the action's fields, click the Settings icon beside its name in the message field.
4. If you do not have an app account selected, a modal will open. In the Account dropdown menu, select an account to connect to. 
   • You can create a new connection by clicking the Settings icon within the modal.  
5. Fill out any other fields that may be required for the action.
   • To see optional fields, click Show all options. For these fields, you can let the agent decide the content of certain fields. 
6. Click Save.

Note

Private apps will not appear in the list of options for triggers and actions.

5. (Optional) Add a data source

Data sources are knowledge your agent can use to complete tasks or answer questions. Any data source previously added to your agent becomes available within behaviors. To add more data sources: 

1. From the behavior dialog box, click Find data. 
2. Click + Add data source.
3. In the dialog box, upload a file or select an app from the available options.
4. Select a connection for the app from the first dropdown menu. 
   • You can create a new connection by clicking the Settings icon . 
5. In the next dropdown menu, select a document to use as the data source. 
   • Some apps may require you to fill out further fields.
6. Click Add data source.

6. Test your behavior and enable it

After setting up your behavior, you should test it to ensure the agent is working as expected. To do so, click Test Behavior in the Behavior dialog box.

When you’re testing a behavior, your agent will show you a preview before carrying out actions in your connected apps so you can ensure it's sending the correct information.

Correct a behavior

During testing, if you'd like the agent to do something differently, just send a message telling it what to do. If your agent recognizes that it should update its instructions, it will show that the feedback has been saved and the instructions for the behavior will be updated.

When you're happy with the results, enable the behavior by clicking the Enable behavior toggle at the top right of the Behavior dialog box. If you made changes to the instructions, you can also retest the behavior.

Activity limits for behaviors

Each behavior run has a limit on how many activities it can use. These limits depend on your plan:

• Free plan: 10 activities.
• Paid plans: 40 activities.

Learn more about what counts as an activity.

Provide feedback and get help

Submit a feature request, provide feedback on existing features, or get help from the Zapier Agents team. You can also discuss Agents with other users on Zapier's Early Access Program Slack.